Skills and Knowledge needed by Hospitality Graduates: Where are the gaps in Hospitality Higher Education?

This paper aims to identify gaps perceived between the skills and knowledge ascribed by Hospitality Management Higher Education frameworks (notably the Quality Assurance Agency), and the skills and knowledge needed by Hospitality graduates (as stated by the sector skills council). Gaps perceived in literatures are formalised through creation of a new theoretical framework which uses key theories underpinning successful customer service. Conclusions from the review identify a number of concerns with the current Education framework used for Hospitality (and general Leisure based studies). The education framework is seen as inflexible for the interdisciplinary nature of graduate life, and indistinct on the skills and knowledge needed and used by staff in employment. Thus, this paper identifies a new framework of theories to analyse staff perceptions on skill and knowledge use in industry by recent graduates from Hospitality Management.